About Me

Welcome! I'm Nik Argiropoulos, a 28 year old Tottenham fan from Woking, Surrey, UK. I've finished in Yahoo Fantasy Football's Top 500 every season since I started playing the game 7 years ago, with a highest finish of 60th, so I'm hoping this blog will offer some useful advice to my fellow managers.**AM CHAT ROOM**

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Monday, 1 March 2010

Apologies for the lack of posts over the weekend - I've been really busy again so just didn't get a chance but hopefully things will return to normal this week.

It's been 48 hours of drama in the Premiership & we also had the Carling Cup final to enjoy - a thrilling game that United edged 2-1 with another Rooney header winning another trophy for Ferguson. Vidic maybe should've been sent off after just a few minutes but he escaped & United controlled the majority of the game after half time.
But lets be honest, as players of this fantasy football game it's really only the league we care about, so let's start at Stamford Bridge where City shocked Chelsea 4-2. The Blues where in complete command after Lampard opened the scoring until a comedy of errors just before half time led to a Tevez equaliser. The 2nd half was a complete turnaround as Chelsea lost control of their discipline, ended with 9 men and zero points. Another goal for Tevez, 2 for Bellamy & a consolation penalty for Lampard.

It was a nightmare start for me on many levels. Firstly, a City win was bad for Spurs in the race for 4th place, secondly because I spent £22m on Drogba only for him to come up with a limp performance & 10 points, and thirdly because I had Hilario in goal.

I know the guy is the reserve keeper, but how can he THAT bad? He trains with world class coaches all week, has been called up to the Portuguese national squad, yet he seemed clueless on how to position himself & looked totally out of his depth. A bad bad pick by me, so bad that I was actually relieved that it was only -9.5 when the points came in.

So a terrible start, but I still had 9 players who would start right? Nope, Eagles on the bench...so I was almost glad Burnley lost because of Laws' decision. I was happy I went with Fox over Cork as the Chelsea loanee was on the bench & Fox returned a very respectable 12 points without a clean sheet. O'Hara gave Jensen a penalty save while Paterson, Piquionne & Yebda came up with goals.

The keeper I'd had in my team all week until the Hilario switch last Thursday was Jussi, so it really hurt to see Bolton run out 1-0 winners vs Wolves, 14 points for him & 20 for goalscorer Zat Knight. Lee picked me up 7 points, but Stuart Holden may be a man to look out for in future...he was on set pieces ahead of Lee while Matt Taylor seems to have lost his starting spot completely.

Birmingham beat Wigan 1 nil & all those who went with James McFadden & Birmingham defenders were rewarded...pretty much nothing for Wigan players.

The final game on Saturday was Arsenal's 3-1 win over Stoke, which was overshadowed by Ramsey's awful injury from a Ryan Shawcross tackle - I'm sure you'll all join my in wishing the young lad a speedy recovery. Bendtner was on the scoresheet again (grabbing me 11 points), as were Fabregas & Vermaelen, after Pugh had opened the scoring.

3 games on Sunday included a vital win for Spurs vs an increasingly tough to beat Everton side. Some of the football we played in the first half was scintillating & 2-0 was a fair scoreline after goals from Pavlyuchenko & Modric. Evertone came back in to it in the 2nd half (Yakubu) & could've grabbed a point but in the end Spurs probably deserved it. Bale was outstanding again, 14.5 points without a clean sheet...I'll certainly be keeping him @2.5 through his blank week.

Liverpool were next, scrapping past Blackburn 2-1 in a bad tempered game. Gerrard came through with a goal for me & of course Torres was back on the goal trail, with Keith Andrews replying from the spot. Blackburn were maybe slightly unlucky to walk away with nothing, shown by Reina's points total; 15.5, with 7 saves, including one sensational stop in injury time.

Final game was one I had 3 players in, Sunderland vs Fulham. It ended as a drab 0-0 draw, with good points for Hutton but very little from Richardson & Bent.

I finished Week 24 on 80 points, which given the start I had with Hilario & Drogba was probably about the best I could hope for. Had I stuck with Jaaskalainen that would've been 103 points, but that's in the past now & I have to be pleased I only dropped 80 places over the weekend to 1076th.

**I will calculate the Blog Cup results later today.**

For Week 25 we have 2 teams with a double week (Burnley & Bolton) and apparently no game for Spurs, Man City, Villa, Chelsea, Blackburn & Fulham because of FA Cup fixtures...although I'm wondering whether there's a chance of them squeezing some additional games in next midweek at the last minute? Probably not, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

So aside from the 2 teams with a double, Arsenal at home to Burnley stands out massively - if the Gunners get going early you could see a 5-0 victory. Man United at Wolves, Everton home to Hull & Liverpool at Wigan look tempting too. West Ham will fancy themselves at home to Bolton, as might Sunderland (despite their poor form). I don't really fancy loading up on either of the double teams given their fixtures, so with that in mind...

I'm looking to bring Arteta in for Eagles as he's not guaranteed to start, Holden for Lee & possibly Rooney instead of Gerrard (downgrading Fletcher to a cheap middie).. I'll take the blank for Bale, Hutton & Fox will stay, as might James (got him at under £2m)...Torres, Bendtner & Fabregas all stay too.

That's it! As I mentioned I'll get the Blog Cup Results up later today once I have time to do the calculations. Please let me know how you did in Week 24 & who you grabbed on the barndoor.

Cheers,
AM

p.s. Message to Jon (Comments of my 'Week 24 - My Team' post - have you found your way back in to the Blog League yet mate? I need you in there before I can do any Cup calculations. I can't invite you back in, you just need to find the Group ID and password for the league you were in - can you remember which Blog League you were in (1-6)? Thanks

30
comments:

Guy
said...

I feel as disappointed as you AM - I managed only 84.5 points which isn't a disaster but after a great week last week I'm pretty sure it won't be enough to get through to the last 20 of the blog cup. There are a lot of 100+ scores about.I didn't have the excuse of Hilario either (I still have Almunia), but you're right not to beat yourself up for picking him. I don't think he was a bad pick (until after the game). He's quite a tempting price now if Cech's still out - for the brave!I had enough cash left to go for Agger - 1pt - wish I'd been forced to go with Hutton!Did anyone notice Rooney's comments about having a sore knee yesterday (he said he was thinking of asking to come off, but then he scored). With the CL games coming up he must be a rotation risk I'd have thought. But yes, I did sell him (@16.1) before this week, so I would say that I suppose. If he was rested for Wolves, would ManU get a fine though? Remember the reverse fixture!

you Bastard ! ...lol only kidding. Modric aaaaaaggghh. i dropped him . :( hope you feel suitably guilty ! only kidding again. also had hilario, who i'd switched from reina. hilario was so bad i don't know why he wasn't subbed. the 0 from skrtel would have been better than carra's minus 2. thankfully goals from torres, gerrard & bendtner salvaged a bit of pride. i also tipped holden last wk as a risky pick. i didn't have him though. :( S.P.

[Edit, haha I knew as soon as I posted this you'd make the post AM, bad timing on my part.]

Hey STM, big thank you for the feedback on Fulham players. In the end I stuck with only Duff instead of Zamora, Davies and Baird, and that really saved me some points. Also thanks AM for the Steinsson idea in that post, he made a better return than my other choices, Cork and Baird.

Usually I aim for 100 for a purely single game week, this week I made 98 so not much to complain about.

No real regrets, I couldn't have known that Duff would not make his usual points, maybe Hutton would've been a better choice than Steinsson but he still performed well. Who was to know that Eagles would be benched. The only grievance I have is that Fletch didn't sink that chance against Pompey, very unlike him. Very happy with buying Torres at 15.8 and Vermaelen is still my favourite player in the league.

The BD this week has gone pretty well, although I now find myself with 5 Scottish players, and maybe six if I decide to go with Gordon instead of Jussi. How did that happen? I've taken Diaby hoping he'll start but I'll probably change him the closer we get to the weekend if he looks unlikely to start. Fox is just the kind of player I like. He generates points without needing the CS like a lot of other defenders. I hope he scores in one of the games. Speaking of which, I've taken 5 DGs, would be 6 if I keep Eagles ahead of Diaby but I don't want to count on him starting.

Oh AM tell me about it. The lost points I had crushed me on the inside. I swapped Torres and Maxi for Eagles and Fletcher for a huge loss in points. Bought insua at 11.XX only for him to be subbed on at 35-40 minutes in. I also lost my cs for reina. And also had Alexander for a blank. Somehow I came out with 84.5 points and got through that little CL and am top of my private league by 20 or so points.

74.5 points and very grateful it wasn't worse with Vidic, Alexander, Walcott and Eagles all on my side. Thank goodness Torres, Bale and Hutton came through or it would have been a train wreck. I still think it was a risk worth taking because now I have a core of solid and reasonably priced players to carry me through the season (Torres, Vidic, Alexander, Arteta) and enough flexibility to add new players for double weeks. Looking forward to better results and a final push into the top 20 of my blog league.

Jussi (2 matches, both away I know but against weaker teams)Hutton (good performance at the weekend and another game at home this week)Fox (Double header - set piece taker)Vermaelen (Got some real easy games coming up - even buying him at 11.5 I expect his value to rocket.Campbell (See verm; cheap and cheerful if he plays)LCYong (Double header usually reliable)Arteta (Against Hull I expect him to score quite highly)Fabregas (Like Verm, worth every penny)Diaby (Usually always a starter and can pop up with the odd goal)Bendtner (Now getting a bit of confidence but will he play the full game now that Eduardo is coming back.Fletcher (Double header, can't see him doing that well against Arsenal, but you never know)

What do you think? I'm a United fan but with Arsenal's run in it's gonna go to the wire.All thoughts appeciated

Special mention to McFadden, bale, hutton and hart. All cost under 10 and returned double figures. 98.5 points for me this week. Stinkers from both carragher and kalinic prevented me from reaching the 100 point benchmark.

Only two double gamers, one each from bolton and burnley. Does Jagielka start games now that he's back? He could be what separates me from the rest. Want Berbatov in but I love all my strikers. Hope Rooney is rested. Can't afford him.

I also had the Hilario-Eagles-Drogba trifecta of death. The only difference is that I'd dropped Jensen, who managed 8 points despite the loss. All this on top of taking the 0 from Rooney (16.10). I'm kind of relieved I wound up with 78.5 points given that my first 6 players (incl. Rooney) produced 13. I got 41 points from Verm, Bale, and Hutton despite picking them up with change I found in the sofa. Bendtner and Gerrard also came through for me to salvage the week for only a small drop in the overall rankings. Safe to say I'm out of the Blog Cup now. Curse you, Hilario!

Of course, now I'm reading that Rooney picked up a gimpy knee in that damn Carling Cup final (is Michael Owen some sort of Frankenstein assembled from damaged body parts?). If Capello plays him in the friendly vs. Egypt, I'm going to walk across the Atlantic and punch him.

Very satisfied with 119 this week with a goose egg from Alexander. I was pretty down when I saw he wasn't even in the squad but got over it when I added things up and realized that the decision to pick him up caused me to drop Hilario to Jensen. Dodged that bullet for a net gain of 5.5 (Jensen/Alexander[8pts]vs. Hilario/Fox[2.5])

I'm extremely nervous about Wazza's status this coming week. With SAF's penchant for subterfuge, I suppose an unambiguous announcement is probably wishful thinking. Fortunately for me, he is the only premium player that I don't hold at a significant discount. But if I drop him and he plays...

96 points, taking a big fat zero for Rooney (16.05).Currently 2657.5 points sitting in position 1282.With this in mind I have decisions to make regarding Drogba (18.9), Bale (2.84) and Modric (6.98).Bale definately stays, can't see anybody dropping him for his blank week. Probably keep Modric too and I'm 0.07 short of being able to swap Torres for Drogba.Might take 3 zeros.Team at present....GivenBale, Baird, Ricketts,Modric, Eagles, Maxi, Fabregas,Tuncay, Rooney, Drogba

First up Chelsea, why were people so down on Man City, in one breath saying they have problems scoring then in the next saying Tevez is back and has been on fire and 11 players desperate to put in a result fora) top four b) pride c) team bridge, against a Team tired after the Champions League with a keeper who is and always has been a joke (he's that cheap for a reason) missing their best two defenders (one injured the other not right in the head/form) and back up missing, but hey you pay your money.

I picked a few Burnley, but they are in real trouble, why did we think the Villa result, or the 7 before were freaks? Pompey players are in the window now and will be a tight team, they have a point to prove, at Home next week I think some of them are worth picking. As for Burnley, I see people are excited about Cork and friends, they are away to Arsenal, forget phantoms, that will be a big score, and Alexander will steal a space from one of them. Jump on Arsenal, have you seen their upcoming fixtures?

Sunderland are in poor form, Bruce is on the edge if the local press is to be believed, they have Bolton next at home, surely last chance saloon for their season/Bruce and having Gordon and Hutton makes me nervous, but its about risks right now.

So next week, Everton, I like them, I got Yakubu on the BD as Saha is out for three weeks, Cahill has a very, very slight outside chance but I think Moyes will go more adventurous, the fans were on his back with the 451 (Anichibe on the wing!!) yesterday and in Portugal, against Hull I think Arteta will be more advances so he's in also and I also grabbed Pienaar and finally Jags is close to coming in but I will likely drop Pienaar to free up funds, but hey I have got 3/4 Everton.

Next up Arsenal, I got Verm, Fabregas and Bender on discount and they stay, if Pienaar goes, Nasri or Sicky will be in.

Then onto the ever more efficient Liverpool, I had Gerrard he stays, I grabbed Torres at maximum discount and Maxi is in my thoughts with this whole Pienaar/Nasri/Sicky choice but I also fancy (not literally) some Pompey and the filler that is Utaka free's up cash.

Anyway to summarise I am going top heavy on Everton, Arsenal, Liverpool and Portsmouth, in that order, most likely 3/3/2/2 and Craig Gordon.

A sort of disturbing week for me with the five Burnley players earning a total of 19.50 points :S At least I'm happy that not even for a second did I buy Hilario and kept Jensen. By the way, at 11:50 I bought Jussi, wondered a bit and clicked 'Undo all changes'. :S ,again. Gerrard(13), Torres(15.5), Hutton, my Friday purchase(11.5) and McFadden(16.5) made my way to the 78.50 points for this week.

Next week I see Everton, Pool, Arsenal and ManUtd as my point-grabbers instead of the DGs, so my team is going to be an multi-team-al (what?!?) selection.

BD Team

Howard (better idea? -no )--Hutton (impressive week, why not again)Sagna (affordable Arsenal DF, may switch to Clichy)Heitinga (solid performance, could switch to Jagielka)--Arteta (oh, come on, 7.59, where/when will it happen again)Valencia (13.55, worth every penny/cent, in great form)Nasri (hope he plays, again 7.59)Modric (got him @8.93, I know he has no game, but I can't live without him :) )--Bendtner (7.47, min.2 goals against Burnley, I hope)Torres (do you really need explanation :) )Fletcher (only DG, worth a try)

Let's hope for a quick return from Aaron Ramsey and more great football from him.

@acabee: i was in that boat earlier in the season before i discovered barndooring from AM's blog. what a saviour! i managed to improve my 1st half season ranking of 20,556th to currently 577th in the 2nd half. about your team, i'd suggest you switch jensen for james (3.65) in goal instead to free up some cash. even though burnley have play twice, they face arsenal who will be looking to push harder for the title now and a tough stoke side. i see burnley conceding far more goals than pompy this week.

W24 has been good for me. 108 in total even with a big fat 0 from holding rooney @17.

1.28 left in the bank to fiddle around with. I'd love to somehow fit in Gordon in goal but unfortunately i missed him on the BD. I had arteta but sold him to get Fab and possibly to keep for the season considering Arsenal's favourable fixture list.

But overall, i'm quite pleased with the team. But we'll see what the international friendlies have in store... any word on Torres playing vs France?

hmm..for week 25,im thinking of goin 4 jagielka.Everton look strong to get a clean sheet at home to Hull.do u think he will strt the game?or should i choose heitinga(8.47).my current line-up 4 week 25 is :-

Further to my previous post, price fluctuations have meant I've been able to swap Drogba (18.9) for Torres (19.02).When Drogba returns he is playing West Ham, Torres will be up against Portsmouth - if they haven't been wound up.

ya i know that u all buy them b4 yahoo update the price.. but don u feel it is like a waste of money if u sell a cheaper player that don play for this week and change it for other player.. thank for your feedback =)

@golovawhat i meant is just like your team!!!im so curious how can u hold such good players.. u hav fab,vermalen,bale,rooney,torresis not just your team but there's other team just as same as your's.. thank for your comment.. =)

@acabeeYou will see teams having lots of good, expensive players (re: your example), but they will not have paid full value for these. The have bought them at a cheaper price and held onto them whilst their price increases; for example many people still hold Drogba for 10.6.